LOU DEW Preview at The Flea off Market

From the moment we arrived at the Flea off Market on Saturday morning, there was a feeling of excitement. We pulled our cars in and lined them up at the main entrance and set up a booth with information on our group.

One couple got there early (before we even set up) to see the cars, and they were my first passengers for a ride around the NULU area. Driving them around gave me the opportunity to show off some of the features of my all-electric Nissan Leaf and answer all their questions. And a highlight of the drive was stopping at our first Adopt-a-Charger Level 2 EV charger that was installed at The Green Building on Market Street just days before. So not only did they see how an electric car performed, but they were also shown how simple, clean and easy it was to charge it.

The rest of the day was filled with EVolve KY members answering questions and showing off their cars. I even got to see first-hand how funny EVolve KY member Don Feeney could be when he snuck up behind some folks I was speaking to and pretended to be in the market for an EV. “I think I may just wait until they hit around 200 miles of range. I think that’s a good idea,” he said in quite a good deadpan. I had to hold myself back from cracking up as he already has owned his Nissan Leaf for some time now and Don is well known in the community for being environmentally proactive.

We were guests of the fine folks at the Flea off Market for both Saturday and Sunday and the extremely hot weather seemed to be a good omen. We got a steady stream of interested people, lots of good questions and many people found out first-hand how nice it is to ride in an EV.

Ben Guerry from Tafel Motors brought a Smart Car EV, which was a real hit. Folks couldn’t believe that they could get a brand new, very capable EV for so little money ($12,500 after current tax incentives).

There were several Nissan Leafs on display both days, along with a Mitsubishi MiEV, Ford Focus EV, Chevy Volts, Tesla (Hank was so kind to show up even thought it was his birthday), and a 1973 Porsche 914 electric conversion.

Media attention was off the hook resulting in about eight news stories in total for Louisville Drive Electric Week, including two television spots.

We were delighted as the event surpassed all of our expectations and the Flea off Market folks were thrilled as well. I have a feeling this will be an event we will be participating in for many years to come.